Tin(IV) iodide


Tin iodide, also known as stannic iodide, is the chemical compound with the formula. This tetrahedral molecule crystallizes as a bright orange solid that dissolves readily in nonpolar solvents such as benzene.

Preparation

The compound is usually prepared by the reaction of tin and iodine:

Chemical properties

The compound hydrolyses in water. In hydroiodic acid, it reacts to form a rare example of a hexaiodometallate :

Physical properties

Tin iodide is an orange solid under standard conditions. It has a cubic crystal structure with the space group Pa, the lattice parameter a = 1226 pm and eight formula units per unit cell. This corresponds approximately to a cubic close packing of iodine atoms in which 1/8 of all tetrahedral gaps are occupied by tin atoms. This leads to discrete tetrahedral SnI4 molecules.